A Worm in the Bud 

A woman is found dead in Setwale Wood, an apparent suicide, except that her suicide note is emailed after her body has already been sighted.

Director:

David Tucker

Writers:

Michael Russell (screenplay), Caroline Graham (characters)

Stars:

John Nettles, Daniel Casey, Jane Wymark

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
John Nettles	...	DCI Tom Barnaby
Daniel Casey	...	Sergeant Gavin Troy
Jane Wymark	...	Joyce Barnaby
Gillian Barge	...	Hannah Harrington
Rosie Cavaliero	...	Denise Fielding
Wendy Craig	...	Victoria Bartlett
Janie Dee	...	Caroline Harrington
Ian Driver	...	Edmund Nelson
Charlie Hicks	...	Sean Fielding
Ian Hogg	...	Jonah Bloxham
Clarista Hoult	...	Julie Fielding
Barry Jackson	...	Dr. Bullard
Emily Joyce	...	Bernadette Sullivan
Adam Kotz	...	James Harrington
Paul Venables	...	Simon Bartlett

Storyline

Some of the residents of Midsomer Worthy are trying to prevent James Harrington from turning Setwale Woods into a housing estate. Led by a solicitor, Bernadette Sullivan, and a local farmer, Simon Bartlett, who also happen to be having an affair, they haven't had much success in court. When Bartlett's wife Susan is found dead in the woods, Barnaby and Troy must first determine is if her murder is related to the planned development or something as yet unknown. The information provided by two inquisitive children, who see the investigation as a fascinating game, proves invaluable in solving the crime.

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Plot Keywords:

midsomer | hound | valerian | squatter | shotgun | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 June 2002 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Bledlow, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bentley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

DCI Barnaby quotes the Hughes Mearns poem "Antigonish" to Sergeant Troy.

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Goofs

When Denise Fielding is clearing the dinner table, the children have not finished their meals - they both still have food on their plates and are both still chewing food.

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Quotes

DCI Tom Barnaby: That's better Troy. Don't start discussing matters of the flesh with delicacy and discretion, they'll never know what you're talking about.

User Reviews

big problems in Midsomer Worthy

The people of Midsomer Worthy are attempting to keep James Harrington from razing Setwale Woods and turning it into housing. This apparently means that the farm owned by Simon Bartlett will be lost. He teams up with an attorney, Bernadette Sullivan, to stop Harrington. In fact, they team up in more ways than one.

When two children report a body in Setwale Woods, no one believes them until their father sees it, now in a different place. The body is that of Simon's wife, Catherine, an unhappy woman who left a suicide note. It's later determined to be murder. Then there's another murder. So who's doing the killing, and why? In this episode, Barnaby gets some crucial help from the brother and sister, whose parents are tearing their hair out with worry. There is a big hole in this script, which is that no one ever says why the Bartlett farm will be lost if the housing development goes up. Harrington could not have forced Bartlett to sell his farm, yet there seems to be a great deal of angst about holding onto it.

Still, it's a good episode with a good ending. The best scene is the children boarding a bus for Causton and going to see Barnaby at home. He isn't there, but Joyce is, and the little boy isn't interested in the mystery -- he just wants food.

Entertaining.